FINAL: North Philadelphia Aztecs (PA) 18, E. Tampa Bandits (FL) 6

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Aztecs run away from Bandits

The North Philadelphia Aztecs charged their way to a victory over the East Tampa Bay Bandits in the first round of Division II Junior Pee Wee League today at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Both teams' defensive play came out fast and strong in the First Quarter with each team coming up with impressive stops. Despite two opportunities from fumbles, the end of the first quarter left the score at 0-0.

With a few minutes off the clock in the second quarter, the Aztecs set up their first score with a 16-yard bootleg pass. The Bandits defense pushed the receiver out of bounds at the 2 yard line. On the next play #7 on the Aztecs punched the ball into the end zone, putting the Aztecs on the board with 6. The PAT was no good as the Bandits defense stood strong.

The Aztecs continued their scoring strike after recovering the kick-off on the Bandits 29 yard line. The Aztecs picked up a string of solid runs, forcing the Bandits to call a time out. On the first play after the timeout, the Aztecs #2 stormed through the defense for a 13 yard score with 50.8 seconds left in the half. After a second failed PAT, the Aztecs went into halftime with a 12-0 lead.

The Aztecs continued on their strike in the third quarter with a 26 yard pass play. The Aztecs second score was 2 yard run by #7. With 2:22 left on the clock The PAT was no good and the team charged on to a 18-0 lead.

The end of the third quarter showed that the there was still some fight left in the Bandits. A 26 yard pass set up the Bandits on the scoring drive. After two consecutive penalties on the Aztecs the Bandits took advantage of the field position with the pall on the 7 yard line at the end of the third quarter.

Just 56 seconds into the fourth quarter # 2 for the Bandits kept the ball and landed their attack in the end zone for their first score. The PAT was unsuccessful and were on the board at 18-6. Despite the Bandits last minute efforts the Aztecs defense stayed strong and allowed them to hold on for the first round victory.

Aztecs head coach Kern Robinson emphasized the strength of the defense as the team went 14 games of shutouts until they reached Regionals. With the first game under their belt the Aztecs look towards their next game on Friday against the Huntington Beach Chargers to get more rhythm as well as continue to emphasize the quickness on the defensive end.